Transgender Representations in TV and Movies

In this lesson, students are introduced to concepts of gender identity and gender expression and learn about common portrayals of trans people in movies and TV shows. Students then draw on this analysis to imagine trans characters and allies in different TV and movie genres. Finally, students consider the question of whether it’s more important for characters from marginalized communities to be represented in media more often or if it’s more important that those portrayals be positive and accurate.

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

An understanding of current and past representations of the transgender community

An understanding of the implications of the lack of appropriate representations of transgender persons in the media

An understanding of gender identity, gender expression and allies

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.